The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a government form that parents should file every year their student is in college. As the name implies, it is an application for financial aid. For some colleges it is the only application that they use for awarding scholarships and grants.

Right away I'm sure a lot of you are thinking "We make too much money to be eligible for financial aid" or "My brother's family makes less money than we do and they didn't receive any financial aid". But everyone's circumstances are different. The FAFSA takes into consideration more than just income. Let our expertise help you determine what you can expect.

The FAFSA should be completed by the end of the year of the student's senior year in high school with estimated figures. Then once the parents' and student's tax forms are filed, the FAFSA will need to be amended with actual data. The various colleges have different deadlines for when the parents must complete and submit their amended FAFSA in order to be eligible for aid. If these deadlines are missed, the student may not even be eligible for the low-interest federal student loans.

Filling out your own FAFSA and submitting it online is free by going to the government's website, www.fafsa.ed.gov. Do not be fooled by other websites that charge you a fee for submitting this form. However, if you'd like help in filling out the FAFSA, then we include this service in a couple of our college planning packages.

For more information and FAQs regarding the FAFSA, please visit www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Also see more related information at Explaining the EFC and College Aid Calculator.